


a heart of steel starts to grow

by GuardianKarenTerrier



Series: Week One: Oblivious [10]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: ...chat adoption, Animal Death, Animal Rescue, Cat adoption, Eventual Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Grieving, Happy Ending, Pet Adoption, Podfic Welcome, supportive ladybug, supportive plagg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-13 10:28:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20172736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuardianKarenTerrier/pseuds/GuardianKarenTerrier
Summary: Ladybug groans and links her hands behind her head, but she doesn't stop him from darting into yet another alley.  "Chat Noir, what are we looking for again, exactly?""Uh." Adrien hesitates, tail curling around one leg.  "I'm actually hoping we won't find them?""Findthem?" Ladybug's eyebrows go up and she motions him closer.  He goes to her without hesitation.  "Kitty, really.  What are we looking for?"He can't exactly say 'my bodyguard drove past someone leaving kittens in an alley earlier and Nathalie wouldn't listen long enough to stop.' There are, in fact, several reasons he can't say that.





	a heart of steel starts to grow

**Author's Note:**

> for the 'abandon' prompt for adrienaugreste2k19 
> 
> also, **WARNING**: it is not graphic or even described, but there are dead kittens at the beginning of this, and a lot of the story revolves around adriens reaction to this. i PROMISE it does still have a happy, fluffy ending. 
> 
> if this is not for you i completely understand and ill be back to another mostly fluffy fic tomorrow.

Ladybug groans and links her hands behind her head, but she doesn't stop him from darting into yet another alley. "Chat Noir, _what_ are we looking for again, exactly?"

"Uh." Adrien hesitates, tail curling around one leg. "I'm actually hoping we won't find them?"

"Find _them_?" Ladybug's eyebrows go up and she motions him closer. He goes to her without hesitation. "Kitty, really. What are we looking for?"

He can't exactly say 'my bodyguard drove past someone leaving kittens in an alley earlier and Nathalie wouldn't listen long enough to stop.' There are, in fact, _several_ reasons he can't say that. 

One of them is that he doesn't particularly want to think too hard about whether Nathalie would have stopped even if she _had_ been listening. She would have, once, but he suspects that was a long time ago now. 

"_Chat Noir_," Ladybug says, putting her hands on his shoulders and shaking him lightly. "Stop zoning out on me, kitty, what are we looking for?"

His shoulders slump and her grip tightens. He has no desire to lie to her, so he says, "Someone abandoned some kittens around here earlier. I couldn't, um, I couldn't stop at the time, so I'm not sure exactly where-"

To his surprise, Ladybug pulls him entirely into a hug. "Oh, minou. Why don't we go up to the roofs to look? That should give us a better view."

It's a good thing she lets go a moment later, because Adrien's not certain that he would have moved away on his own. 

The roofs do go faster. Splitting up would _definitely_ go faster, but he doesn't suggest that, because if he finds what he's afraid he will then he really doesn't want to be alone. Ladybug doesn't suggest it either and he isn't going to say anything that might make her mention it.

It still takes another half an hour but they find the cardboard box hidden distressingly deep in an alley, bedraggled and sorry-looking. It's been raining on and off all evening and the cardboard is split and torn, one side nearly shredded.

There were four kittens inside at some point.

Now there's not. Now there's one very, very wet kitten about a foot from the box that barely blinks at Chat Noir- and there's Ladybug shaking her head at him from where she's crouched next to the box. 

Chat Noir gets back up from his own crouch, cradling the kitten to his chest. The kitten purrs weakly but it- she?- feels cold against the warmth of his hands. 

He starts to join Ladybug and she shakes her head again, much more sharply.

"Don't look, Chat," she says softly. "There's nothing we can do."

He almost says something, but then he notices the way Ladybug is clutching her yo-yo tightly. 

She takes a deep breath and warns him, just as softly, "I don't know if this is going to work." 

The Lucky Charm is an hourglass. It's already cracked on one side, the last of the sand seeping out, when it lands in Ladybug's outstretched hands. 

Chat Noir's eyes meet Ladybug's. For possibly the first time, they're both relatively certain they know exactly what the Lucky Charm means.

He still can't stop hoping they're wrong. 

Ladybug breaks eye contact, takes a deep breath, and only tosses the hourglass lightly into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

There _is_ a tiny swarm of ladybugs, which honestly surprises Adrien. He'd thought, when he'd seen the hourglass, that it meant-

The little light show clamours around the box, only to fade away almost immediately. Adrien's drawn over to the box even though the box itself is still wet and torn, even though he knows before Ladybug waves him back again that they won't have been brought back. It wasn't an akuma that did this. It was a normal human doing a normal, if exceptionally shitty, human thing, and that's not something Miraculous Cure was ever really meant to fix.

The last little kitten nestles closer against his chest, seeking warmth.

"Sorry, minou." Ladybug's almost inaudible, even to him. "I tried."

Her earrings beep.

Chat Noir's heart falls. Not only did it not work, but now they have to split up, and he really doesn't want to be alone right now.

Ladybug looks at the box again, then back at him, her expression unreadable. "Chat Noir? I'll go re-transform. I'll meet you down the street in two minutes and we can bring the kitten somewhere."

His heart lifts again, much faster than it fell, and he's only reasonably sure that he stammers out agreement.

Ladybug doesn't keep him waiting. It isn't two minutes; she meets him outside the alley in less than one. She reaches over and strokes the kitten gently but doesn't make any move to take it from him.

She swallows. "I don't think they're- I don't think they were too terribly young. Let's, uh, you know the shelter in the eighth arrondissement?"

Chat Noir knows shelters all over the city but that's not a discussion that he's ready to have. He understands immediately, anyway, because- "The one with its own veterinary staff?"

"Yeah. I know it's late, but maybe someone's there." She turns to start down the street but waits for him to catch up.

He realises halfway there that he's been purring softly back at the kitten. He doesn't know when he started. 

He's more than a little worried that the kitten has been purring this whole time, knowing what he does about when _exactly_ cats purr.

(Admittedly he'd learned quite a bit of that from Plagg, after the first time he'd found himself buried in a pile of blankets and purring to _himself_ after a particularly bad day, but it isn't like he hadn't made a point of researching on his own after that).

Ladybug seems to know, too, though he's certainly never told her. A little over halfway there she reaches over and wraps her hand lightly around the wrist she can reach, over the hand not already occupied with the kitten.

The shelter is technically closed when they reach it. The doors are locked, anyway, but there are still employees there, and one of them comes to the door as soon as he sees them.

Leaning halfway out the door, the man says worriedly, "Is there an akuma nearby?" He glances back into the building. "Only our backup generator isn't really working, and if there's another power outage... not, not that you wouldn't fix it, Ladybug," he tacks on in a hurry, "And of course I appreciate that, only... only it's a bit rough, you know, having to- well, being in surgery, and then not, and then again, and uh-" He fumbles to a halt, face flushed.

Chat Noir can't help flinching at the mental images the man's rambling has summoned. Because oh- _oh._ Backup generators, power outages, _surgery_\- he's never- he's never thought of that, before. Miraculous Cure puts things back, so even when buildings and power lines are down he doesn't worry too terribly. 

Only, it isn't as though all or even most akuma prevent people _remembering_ what's happened.

Adrien thinks of the widespread destruction the city faces every time Hawkmoth finds someone to akumatise and feels cold. Even if the man is rationalising it with the knowledge that Ladybug will eventually put everything back to rights, that won't change that it _happened_. And if a battle ever ends with their Miraculous in _Hawkmoth's_ hands-

-that damage could well stay.

"It's not an akuma," Ladybug says, stepping forward to put a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder. He ducks his head as she explains, briefly, what they've found.

The pain that flashes through his dark eyes at her explanation looks as though it's not an unfamiliar feeling for him. 

He lets them in, after that.

"I'm Matt, by the way, I'm a technician," he says as he leads them down a corridor. "Sorry, I'm used to talking to the animals more, I've gotten kind of bad at introducing myself."

"Oh, you don't need to apologise." Ladybug is looking around with interest. "The animals are your job, after all, not us."

Chat Noir doesn't even realise he's been silent this whole time until Matt stops, well into the building, and turns to face him.

"Hey," Matt says, gently enough that Adrien raises his head to look at him. "Hey, I know. You did all you could. Sometimes-" That same familiar pain is in his eyes again, and this time it lingers. "Sometimes that's all you can do."

Ladybug puts a hand on Chat Noir's shoulder and squeezes, leaning against his side. "You saved this one, kitty. I know how much you wanted to save all of them."

"I don't understand why anyone would do that." Adrien means to say that rather louder than he does, but his voice is hoarse and wavering. "He didn't need to abandon them like that, there are shelters. There are people who'd have taken them."

Matt sighs, his shoulders slumping. "Yeah. We ask ourselves that a lot. I know a lot of people get in over their heads- get a puppy or a kitten without _really_ considering that they're adopting a living being, something that depends on them. So they find out they can't handle it, or can't afford it, or any of a dozen other things go wrong. The dog gets sick. The cat has kittens because they didn't have the money to have her spayed, and now they don't have the money for the kittens. Someone has a medical crisis, or someone dies, and there's no one to take care of their pets anymore." He swallows and says, tightly, "We really do see a lot of it."

"I don't think I could do your job." Adrien doesn't mean to say that. It just sort of slips out.

Matt smiles at him sadly and Adrien finally relinquishes the kitten into his arms. The technician cradles it gently as he says, "I know I'm painting a dark picture, but the job really is worth it." He strokes one hand lightly over the kitten's head. "You can't save all of them. It isn't _possible_. So- so you save the ones you can."

Chat Noir stands a little straighter at that. The kittens they couldn't save still haunt him, and he's ashamed to be glad that Ladybug kept him from seeing them, but the sight of the technician holding the last little kitten close and the sound of her purr does help. 

"I'll take this little one to see the vet," Matt says, turning towards the door without making it seem rude or dismissive. "Please, you're welcome to check in on her anytime. She's a cute kitten- there'll be plenty of people lining up to adopt her."

There would have been people lining up to adopt her siblings, too, if they hadn't died in a dark alley in the rain. If whoever'd had them had been more responsible, or more kind. If a single person had just been _better_, somehow.

"Chat Noir, Ladybug," Matt says, looking between them. "You did save her. Even if you couldn't save the others, you _did_ save her."

They have to leave, after that. The building _is_ technically closed and they still haven't done any actual patrolling.

They really don't accomplish any patrolling _now_. They try, but neither of them wants to split up, and after Ladybug pulls Chat Noir onto the second building in a row he's missed she finds an open space on the roof and pulls him down to sit beside her.

He flips onto his side and stares out at the city lights for a long time. After a while, Ladybug's hand comes to rest lightly on his side. "You did everything you could, Chat Noir."

"I should have done something earlier." He doesn't entirely recognise his own voice. "I should have gone to check right away, not waited until patrol."

Her hand presses, then moves up to his shoulder. Ladybug tugs at him until he rolls onto his back and looks up at her.

"If you could have done that, you would have," she says, firmly. "I know you, minou. I don't need to know what stopped you to know that something _did_."

Adrien doesn't reply, but she doesn't push him. He closes his eyes and shrugs closer to Ladybug and she leaves her hand on his shoulder, letting him have that point of contact. He cracks his eyes open a few times to make absolutely _certain_ there aren't any evil little butterflies homing in on them, but Ladybug settles in more firmly and keeps watch. They never really discuss it but it isn't the first time one of them has kept an eye out for the other while they're having a bad night- they can't do it out of their suits, but Adrien knows by now how closely Plagg guards him even if his kwami will never admit to it. He can't imagine Ladybug's kwami doesn't do the same.

They do patrol, eventually. 

If they check the alleys more frequently than usual, well, it isn't like they answer to anyone but each other on patrol. 

The sun's actually begun to rise by the time they're ready to part ways. They don't normally stay out so late, but even if she's showing it less Adrien's sure Ladybug is just as upset as _he_ is about the kittens. He was too late, but her Lucky Charm failed them, too.

When they finally do split up, on the steps of Sacré-Cœur, it's Ladybug that turns to hug him first. 

It's Ladybug who doesn't let go for at least a full minute, too.

Adrien goes home, detransforms, and falls into bed. He knows he isn't going to be able to get any sleep, but it hardly matters when his alarm is going to go off in about twenty minutes anyway.

Plagg only delays long enough to fetch himself cheese before settling in on the pillow next to Adrien's head. Plagg does have his own pillow, a smaller one Adrien relocated from the couch in his first week of being Chat Noir, but his kwami almost never uses it.

He doesn't use it now. He devours his wheel of Camembert and slips further down, nestling against Adrien's neck and purring softly. Adrien reaches up and curls one hand over his kwami, grateful beyond words for Plagg.

He doesn't focus well in school that day. Luckily, Mme. Bustier has been willing to let him have his homework well in advance for a long time now. 

Adrien does at least _try_ to focus after school, but he does so miserably at fencing that M. D'Argencourt actually advises him to leave early. Technically he should go let the Gorilla know right away, and then go home, but-

The animal shelter isn't exactly close on foot.

It isn't exactly far if he transforms. 

He doesn't even have to _ask_ Plagg, Plagg obviously knows already. Plagg grumbles but transforms Adrien and it's only when Adrien's already crouched on the roof of the shelter that he realises he's not sure what to do from here. 

He's been to most of the shelters as Chat Noir, at one point or another, but it isn't like he can adopt a cat as Chat Noir. (He does consider trying, but it's definitely not practical and he isn't sure where the cat would _stay_). If he walks in as Adrien, he runs the risk of someone posting it on social media and-

And _what_?

He doesn't see how he can be in trouble for going to an _animal shelter_, but he's somehow still very certain that he _would_ be.

Adrien shakes his head, realising belatedly that he's been running one hand nervously over the belt buckle on his tail. He lets go, takes a deep breath, and lets his transformation go.

Plagg flits up to his shoulder without even stopping to ask for Camembert, butting against Adrien's cheek when he turns his head. "Kid? You got a plan?"

Adrien swallows and admits, "No. I- _want_ to just go in there and see, but- I don't think Father would like that." Just because his feeling of _he'd be angry_ is vague and nebulous doesn't mean it isn't _real_. Plagg's the one who _taught_ him that.

Plagg doesn't have to say anything now for Adrien to sense his displeasure. Adrien knows it isn't directed at _him_, though, so he doesn't comment on it, at least not directly. Instead he says, quietly, "Plagg, he still doesn't want me going out to see my friends, he's not going to want me to be here."

"Yeah but kid," Plagg says, sitting back when Adrien does hand up his cheese. "_You_ want to be here."

"Do you think," Adrien starts, hesitantly, and then stops.

Plagg eats just as fast as ever and flits into the air. "What? Do I think what? 'Cause if you've got a plan, _now_ would be a good time for it, you're out of fencing in ten minutes."

Adrien passes one hand over his eyes and mutters, "I wish Ladybug was here. She _would _have a plan."

Plagg loops once around his head and darts to the opposite shoulder. "Come on, kid, I know you can plan too." He pauses. "I'm _pretty_ sure you know how to plan, too."

"Thanks, Plagg," Adrien says, dryly, but he's grateful anyway. Maybe he should be a little more concerned that a god of destruction is one of the most steadying presences in his life, but he really doesn't think he can bring himself to worry about it.

And if his plan still starts with _what would Ladybug do_, he doesn't have to tell Plagg that.

"Hey," Plagg says, tumbling back off Adrien's shoulder again. "Your friend's here."

Adrien blinks, brows furrowing, but before he can ask Plagg who he means he looks back down and sees Marinette slipping in through the shelter's doors. 

It's not until Adrien's transformed again to slip back down the building and towards the shelter himself that it occurs to him to wonder why she's here alone.

By the time he's finished actually _processing_ that thought, he's already ducked through the door himself. He nearly walks straight into Marinette. 

She doesn't notice.

"I don't really have time to volunteer," she's saying to someone, apologetically, and Adrien looks over her shoulder and sees the same technician from last night. He's so focused on Marinette that _he _hasn't noticed Chat Noir slipping in behind her just yet.

Adrien takes in the deep, dark circles beneath the man's eyes and thinks maybe that isn't the _only_ reason.

"That's all right, there are plenty of other ways to help," the man- Matt- is saying. He sounds tired, but in an oddly cheerful sort of way. "Or, well, okay they do actually all tend to take up time but- look, just telling other people about the animals up for adoption helps. Just about anything helps. Even if you just bring us up on social media now and again- that's actually a really big help."

Adrien clears his throat and then winces when it makes Marinette leap into the air. (Surprisingly high into the air, actually). "I think I can help with that."

Matt brightens the moment he registers Chat Noir's presence. "Hey, you're back! Do you want to see your kitten? She's doing really well!"

"She is?" Chat Noir asks, straightening, aware of the anxious way his tail is lashing. "I mean, yes, definitely, I'd love to see her. Does she- has anyone named her?"

"Not yet," Matt admits, leading them further in. Marinette hesitates, but he waves her on as well. "Why don't you come with us, Marinette? Maybe between us all we can get your kitten a home right away."

Oddly, Marinette jerks at that, but then her expression turns determined and she nods. "That would be wonderful." 

The kitten is in a room tucked into the corner that Adrien strongly suspects isn't intended for that purpose. She comes running when Matt opens the door, letting out a series of demanding meows only to divert at the last second to Chat Noir instead and make a determined attempt to climb up his legs. Her claws don't catch on the leather of his suit, so Marinette muffles a laugh and then scoops the kitten up and into his arms in one smooth motion. 

He stares down at the tiny cat, who nestles immediately into his arms and starts purring like an engine, like she'd never left. 

"Oh," Marinette says, weakly. 

Matt clears his throat. "I'm- I'm gonna let you visit with her while I get back to work."

"Okay." Marinette bites her lip, then blurts out, "Why don't you name her after Chat Noir? You said he brought her here, right?"

Matt laughs. "Well, we _would_, but do you have _any_ idea how many people's pets are named Chat Noir or Ladybug right now? Someone even came in with a turtle named Carapace last week. They're _all_ named for heroes these days."

Chat Noir had _not_ known that, and Marinette looks just as surprised as he feels.

"Admittedly, I've also seen a kitten named Hawkmoth, but then I've seen cats named Thanos and Caligula too so..." Matt shrugs. "I guess some people are just like that." 

And then Matt actually does shut the door and leave, and Chat Noir sinks to the ground with the kitten still in his arms. Marinette joins him and leans in to run a cautious hand over the cat's head. The kitten turns to nip playfully at her hand and then purrs even louder.

"So," Marinette says, gently, and Chat Noir raises his eyes to meet hers. "You saved a kitten?"

He swallows, seeing the alley instead of his friend, and the words spill out before he can stop them. "There were four of them. There were- supposed to be four of them, she's the only that we- that we could save."

Marinette hesitates. "Chat Noir, is it all right if I hug you?"

He _really needs_ a hug, actually. He nods, not entirely trusting his voice, and Marinette squeezes up alongside him and very carefully wraps her arms around him and the kitten both.

"I wish I could keep her," he whispers, when he has his breath back.

"I think she wants to keep _you_," Marinette whispers back, nodding down at the kitten. 

Adrien's throat feels scratchy as he swallows. "I _can't_."

Marinette draws back and gives him an unreadable look. Her hands linger on his shoulders, and it's so similar to the grounding pressure Ladybug uses for wordless reassurance that it disorients him for a moment. He forgets for a moment that he's sitting here with Marinette and not with Ladybug when he says, softly, "If I'd just explained what I was doing sooner, then maybe- maybe we would have-" He swallows. "Maybe we would have found them in time."

"Hey, stop that." Her voice is strained as she presses down on his shoulders just the slightest bit harder. "If you hadn't looked, no one would have found this little one at all."

She gets up, then, and he feels the ache of her hands drawing away from him as acutely as he ever does Ladybug's. 

"I'll be right back," she says, biting her lip as she looks at him. 

Moments later Adrien is alone again.

Well- not _alone_. He still has the kitten, and he hasn't really been alone since the day he met Plagg, anyway. 

The kitten twists in his hands to rub her cheek against his chin. "Miao."

Adrien closes his eyes and shifts to lean back against the nearest wall and wait for Marinette to come back. 

"Miao," he agrees, quietly.

When Marinette does come back, she's not alone. She has Matt with her and a weirdly conflicted expression her face. 

He glances up at her when she clears her throat and he could swear that her eyes flash a much brighter blue for a moment before she kneels next to him. "Um. I hope you don't, uh, mind, Chat Noir, I'm gonna adopt her."

He blinks at her, stunned. He starts to say something- _don't you live in a bakery, _probably_-_ but even though he's stopped to talk to her as Chat Noir sometimes, he's not supposed to know her all _that_ well. He's not sure that he should say that at all. 

Marinette continues, squaring up her shoulders and reaching out to him again, with one hand this time. She rests the other hand on the kitten very briefly instead. "I asked my parents, just now. She has to stay in my room and away from the bakery, but that shouldn't be too hard as long as I remember to keep my supplies in my drawers and not- um! Anyway!" She starts to draw back but never finishes the motion. "Anyway, I. I'm gonna adopt her and I wanted you to know that you can come visit. Any time, ki- Chat Noir."

Adrien blinks at her, incredulously, then looks from her to the kitten. He starts to say something and only then realises how choked up he actually is.

Matt backs discreetly back out of the door. Chat Noir's not entirely certain he doesn't lock it behind him. 

Marinette leans into him, increasing the pressure on his shoulder again, and how does she _know_ that helps him? He hasn't ever shared that with anyone but Ladybug, and even then it isn't as though he'd ever actually _told_ her. She just... seemed to know.

"I think you should be the one to name her, though, not me," Marinette says, softly. She smiles at him, a little sadly. "You _did_ save her."

Adrien shakes his head, still not at _all_ prepared to think about that too closely. "If you're taking her home, you should name her."

"Well." Marinette draws away, just slightly, not enough to keep him from feeling reassured. "I don't think either of us know her well enough to pick out a name just yet. You'll just have to visit until we do, won't you?"

His eyes are definitely tearing up, but he smiles at her anyway, suddenly relieved beyond measure. "I guess so."

They end up taking well over a month to name the kitten.

"Is that her whole name?" Marinette's mother asks weeks later, leaning half into the room from the trapdoor and stroking the kitten. The kitten presses into her hands and purrs noisily; the little cat is a lot of things but _quiet _is not one of them.

Adrien had started coming by almost immediately after Marinette first brought the little cat home, but he'd expected to only be meeting her on the balcony or maybe her room. He'd been so startled when her mother had first popped her head up and asked politely if he was staying for dinner.

He'd still been startled the next day when her father had come barrelling out onto the balcony to ask if they wanted to play a round of Mecha Strike. (Marinette's parents, it transpires, have the _entire_ Mecha Strike series. They are also both very, _very_ good at it).

By the second week, Adrien had learned to accept that Marinette is _not_ the only member of her family suddenly determined to include Chat Noir. 

Adrien has been skipping dinner at home more and more. All he has to do is time it so that Nathalie's seen him sit down at the table and no one will notice if he simply gets up and leaves after, anyway. 

He's been at Marinette's so late and so often for the past week that he's surprised both their classwork isn't suffering for it. Of course, sometimes they end up working on it together, at least when it isn't anything that would be too obviously from _their_ class, and he learns quickly enough that M. Dupain enjoys helping with most subjects and especially science. 

Adrien recalls M. Dupain teaching their class to bake. He'd been very enthusiastic then, and it turns out it _wasn't_ just for the class' sake- he also offers, _very _eagerly, to teach Chat Noir. He's thrilled when Chat Noir accepts and Marinette eventually has to tell Adrien that he shouldn't take her father up on the offer every time, because her father will _absolutely_ delay opening the bakery if he gets caught up in teaching Chat Noir the best way to make madeleines.

Adrien hadn't stopped smiling for the rest of the day.

Plagg is not quiet about his opinion, which is mostly that Adrien should have ditched the mansion more often and much sooner. The fewer and fewer nights that Adrien debates staying at the mansion Plagg nags him until he leaves for Marinette's anyway.

Adrien leaves the mansion on a Friday night once and somehow stays at Marinette's the entire weekend, learning to make mille-feuille and falling asleep on their living room floor.

(He wakes up on the couch covered in blankets with Marinette asleep across from him and her father napping in an armchair, the TV still glowing with a paused VICTORY screen. Her mother was nowhere to be seen but Luck had been curled up on top of Adrien, despite not technically being allowed on that floor of the house).

"That's her whole name. Just Luck, Maman," Marinette says, pressing hard into Chat Noir's side briefly before getting up to collect their kitten. "Just- you know, she isn't good or bad, she just _is_."

Marinette's mother smiles, laugh lines obvious. "I think that's perfect for her. Are you both ready to come down for dinner?"

Despite her name, despite her beginning, Chat Noir is inclined to think Luck is _extremely _lucky after all.

**Author's Note:**

> _we might have been having a real rough week at work when i wrote this_
> 
> for the record, i dont actually think gabriel would let the damage stand if he did get their Miraculous, i honestly think hed fix it before making his wish. but _marinette and adrien have no way of knowing that._
> 
> titles from the script's superheroes!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] a heart of steel starts to grow](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23968711) by [zyr (zhadyra)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhadyra/pseuds/zyr)


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